Luke 6:43-49 (NRSV)
Read Luke 6:43-49 on biblegateway.com
Verse 43"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; Verse 44for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. Verse 45The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. Verse 46"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you? Verse 47I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. Verse 48That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. Verse 49But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house."
Devotion
The text speaks of bearing good fruit, and of having a sound foundation. Both are a reflection of our relationship with God. To bear good fruit in our lives is to live in the One who has grafted us into his family through Baptism. To build our lives upon solid rock is to have as the foundation of our lives the one who created the world and who sent his Son to save it. The season of Lent calls us to repent, to return to the sure foundation of grace, so we may respond with lives of good fruit.
Prayer
Lord, guide us this Lenten season to see again the depth of your grace. Help us to repent so that you may be the foundation of our lives, and so that we may live in ways that produce good fruit in your kingdom. Amen.